1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to data processing, and in particular it relates to funds transfers and credit transactions
2. Background Art
The current enrollment and payment request process used by many financial institutions, such as credit, charge card, or credit card providers, to allow customers to process electronic payments requires that the customer provide bank routing and bank account information to the financial institution at the time the enrollment or payment request is initiated. The routing and bank account information typically corresponds to a non-credit account (e.g., a checking or savings account) from which the payment is to be made. These processes are intended to reduce operating costs in handling paper-based transactions by allowing customers to instead pay credit balances electronically. However, the process has produced as many as 77,000 returned transactions in a single year, which represents over $1 billion in lost or delayed payments. This is primarily because customers have inadvertently, or sometimes fraudulently, provided incorrect bank account identification and routing information.
This has been the case even where customers are required to provide their banking account identification and routing information twice, as a confirmation of the entry. Rather than improving upon the occurrence of returned transactions, the requirement of double entry of such information can serve to deter a customer from completing an electronic transaction due to the extra time required for this task, thus adversely impacting the potential of the financial institution to reduce operating costs by implementing electronic payments.
Accordingly, there is a need to improve customer enrollment and payment request processes.